Tugging the Leash
by K Pierre
Summary: Akihito discovers the truth about his and Asami's relationship when Asami asks him out for Valenswine's Day.


Hi! Thanks for checking this out. I actually post frequently on LJ, but I figured I should do a few stories here. Hope you enjoy.

A/N: Valenswine's Day is traditionally February 13th and is the day when a married person takes out his/her mistress since he/she takes out his/her spouse on February 14th.

**"Tugging the Leash"**

Dinner at Club Sion didn't happen often. In the last year, Akihito didn't need all the fingers on one hand to count the number of times he'd even been asked there, so he popped him more times at Asami's corporate offices. Sure, Asami had an office at Club Sion, but he mainly worked in the Sion Group's top offices in Shinjuku, where he managed the clubs, the restaurants, hotels, and the other more cheerful accounts, like drugs, weapons, and other illegal products. Or so Akihito thought. There wasn't any evidence to the latter goods.

He knew the reason why. He and Asami never really spoke about it, but Akihito's position in Asami's life was tenuous at best. Akihito had no doubts that the man loved him. No one goes to Hong Kong, has an almost-fight to the death with a triad leader, and then agrees to a trade with a Russian mobster for someone he doesn't love. Oh, and then take him to an Indonesian island and have rough, ravishing sex just to reacquaint his lover to reality.

And that's not even including the apartment situation.

But Asami's and Akihito's lives were very separate and constantly conflicting. They couldn't be seen together. Though Akihito doubted there would be many problems for Asami in his criminal world to be seen with a known photojournalist, it couldn't help his creditability as the Bad Ass of Tokyo. And on the flip side, it could mean the end of Akihito's career if he were acknowledged as Asami's lover.

So they ate in private rooms at high society restaurants or in back corners of hole-in-the-walls Akihito enjoyed. They lived together, but Akihito was sure Asami had guards, so no one saw which apartment Akihito entered (save maybe the concierge).

One wrong move on either side, and the balancing act of their careers and personal lives could be over.

So it took more than balls and a slightly faded off-the-rack suit to get Akihito into Sion on Valentine's Day.

If Asami would have asked, Akihito might have come to Club Sion, through the back door and surrounded by guards until he was ushered into Asami's office and subsequently, his embrace. But no, he walked in the front door like any patron with a "borrowed" card he gotten (swiped) from a Diet member when he was photographing (catching) the man with his business partner (drug dealer).

Akihito called this "necessary," "inevitable," and perhaps even "suicidal," an unexpected attack on the swine known as Asami Ryuichi on his own home turf. And yes. Asami Ryuichi was a _swine_.

They should have been like the happy couple in the third booth, laughing and smiling and sharing a chaste kiss. (Even though Akihito knew the woman in that particular booth had a lover on a side, one of her aides in her uptown office, but still!) He and Asami could have been the lovey dovey lovers, but that dream fluttered out the window with the simple words Asami uttered two days ago.

"Let's celebrate Valentine's Day on the 13th. I have a set of pressing meetings that take me out of Tokyo until the morning of the 17th."

SWINE!

Akihito never really believed it before. Sure, he discovered three weeks ago that Asami had other condos and houses, but he thought he lived in Asami's permanent residence, the one the man paid taxes on. The one when he went away, he came home to. It never really occurred to Akihito that every time Asami went away, he actually drove to another apartment in Shinjuku and snuggled up against his mainstream mate—a man or woman slightly older than Akihito who played the part of trophy husband or wife perfectly. Someone who fit into his life instead of bashing against it. Someone who wore a huge rock (not that Akihito wanted one but a tasteful band would do just nicely) and who probably wore full shirts with sleeves and fancy slacks or a lovely skirt, something Asami could easily lift.

The lingering thought ached in Akihito's chest, and he refused Asami dinner on the 13th. He had a "job," which included sitting on Kou's couch with Takato, drinking and playing PSP. He and Asami would celebrate the lovers' day when Asami got back from his "business" trip on the 17th, was what Akihto said. What Akihito really meant was, he'd stop into Club Sion on the 14th and see who Asami's mainstream sweetheart was.

Of course, what he didn't expect was to be the object of the entire club's attention.

Sure, Akihito grabbed that suit Asami brought him out of the closet, and yeah, it felt incredibly soft and smooth against skin. And he brushed hair back with gel just enough that it still held a moderate form of his own spiky do but was presentable in a club like this. Even now, he seemed accepted—no, revered in a way, with every eye upon him, watching him cross the marble floors toward the oak bar. The hungry and awestruck gazes deemed him a youthful antelope who unbeknownst pranced in the panther's territory. He tried his best not to fidget. He needed to look calm and sophisticated, needed to act like he belonged there, so he wasn't thrown out before he completed his investigation.

Forcing a mild smile, Akihito leaned against the bar and ordered a respectable drink, offering his card again for the tab. Eventually, he sat on the bar stool and drank sparingly, waiting for his own prey to arrive.

A few men and women came and went, buying him drinks and offering company. At times, some dismissed their own spouses, but he blushed and declined the offers, saying he was waiting for someone. Thankfully, his time with Asami had grown his tolerance and by the time the man of the hour arrived, Akihito was only slightly buzzed. It was a good thing, too, for when Asami entered, on his arm was a beautiful, thin woman with dark ruby hair and a dress that left little to the imagination. Akihito remembered her instantly as the woman he found in one of Asami's other apartments.

Akihito's mouth dropped open; his eyes grew uncomfortably wide, though he didn't notice either action. His entire, rapt attention was captured by Asami and his _lovely _counterpart, as was everyone's in the club. After all, the two moved like dance partners, shaking hands and speaking to the high members of society. Asami's hand slipped to the woman's lower back, setting at the indent where no doubt a tramp stamp resided. Eventually, Asami moved toward the VIP lounge, but before he left the room, he turned for one last discussion at a table with a diet member. The man, alone on Self-Awareness Day, motioned toward the bar, toward Akihito, most likely, and when Asami turned, his face remained stoic, unchanged, though his eyes blazed.

And Akihito returned the glare.

_Busted, you bastard._

"I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind me being so forward…"

The delectable man slipped in front of Akihito's line of sight, effectively blocking Asami. He was younger than Asami by a few years with dark, shadow-like hair and warm, chestnut eyes. His suit was pressed and new, minus a tie, but the open collar hung open to show those toned muscles that begged to be licked. Sure, not as much as Asami's with his acorns for nipples, but they pleaded their case to his tongue nonetheless. The man's smile showed his bright, shimmering teeth, and Akihito found his own smile forming naturally upon his face as the man finished, "…but may I buy you a drink?"

Akihito shrugged, and he leaned upon the backed stool. "You're the first one to use 'may' instead of 'can.' I guess it _can't_ hurt."

"Oh, I don't know. I've been known to nibble my food from time to time."

Akihito blushed, accepted the drink from the bartender, and took a sip of his bourbon. The conversation was light, flirtatious, and more than enjoyable. He eventually laughed out loud once, his entire body trembling with mirth, before slapping his hands over his mouth. Sakamoto-san, as the man introduced himself, watched him closely, hungrily but not in a bastard-like way, and offered a gentle brush of Akihito's palm.

"So…this…businessman you're waiting for. You have to believe by now the man is a fool to leave you waiting this long."

Akihito finished off his second drink, and the ice cubes clinked to the bottom. "I agree, but he has his charms."

"Oh? And pray tell, what does he have that I don't?"

Still, Sakamoto's nimble finger drew circles upon the back of Akihito's hand. "His eyes are hard, like gold diamonds, but they melt only for me. And he's a bastard. Seriously, he can be a mean son of a bitch when he wants, but he's not to me. Not usually, anyway. And he's always been there for me."

"Except on Valentine's Day," Sakamoto pointed out.

"I'm still not going home with you, Sakamoto -san."

"Oh, Takaba-san. _You _hurt me so." Sakamoto had the nerve to look hurt, and he tugged a card out of his wallet, laying it upon the counter. "But it's obvious that this man has hurt you. Perhaps, you will realize this man isn't worthy of you, and if you think I might be, give me a call." He lifted Akihito's hand, and though he felt like a girl, he enjoyed the kiss on the back with a teasing nibble.

After Sakamoto left, Akihito glanced down at the card, sighing. People liked him, wanted him. Why didn't Asami?

Bullshit. It was Asami's loss if he wanted some tramp instead of him. After all he did for Asami, after all Asami did for him, for the man to just be with another—why didn't Asami break it off if he didn't want Akihito anymore? Or perhaps he did but wanted others, too?

Fuck him, if he was going to be such a douche. Who needed such a smooth bastard with a great smell of coconut and cognac and cigarettes with eyes that spoke promises and hands that fulfilled them? Akihito could have –and he picked up the card— Sakamoto-san who was an actor? Wait. _That_ Sakamoto Hideoyshi, the man from all those action flicks? Wow...and he wanted Akihito.

But Akihito, despite that, wouldn't give the man a call or a second thought. He'd take the card for now, just not to embarrass Sakamoto in the club, and throw it out on his way to Kou's. Then, he'd think about what to do with Asami. After all, it was his own fault, wasn't it? Believing he could trust a man who made a life out of living in the darker parts of society, who lived the lie of a honest man's life.

As Akihito twirled the card about his fingers absentmindedly, a hard hand snatched his and squeezed until a low whine slipped past Akihito's lips and the card tumbled to the counter. He whirled to see Asami, as cool and collected as he always was, standing next to him, a nonchalant elbow upon the bar. He nodded once to the bartender, who quickly refilled Akihito's glass and placed Asami's in front of him.

"I believe we've had the discussion about curiosity and the kitten, Takaba-san." Asami's voice purred with an air of danger and warning in it that Akihito hadn't heard in quite some time.

The younger man savored his drink, proud of himself for not grimacing. "One doesn't become a photojournalist without some sense of danger and mystery, Asami-san. If you had nothing to hide, then it matters little where a journalist's curiosity takes him."

Asami shrugged, an effortless motion it seemed, before he leaned just slightly closer. "A few people have asked about the insatiable blond at the bar. Others have asked for favors in having said blond, but a select few asked if they could punish the photojournalist Takaba Akihito for daring to touch fire in their sanctuary."

Akihito finished his whiskey hastily before motioning to the bartender. "A—And you replied…?"

"Anyone who dares to touch fire in Sion will be burned only by me."

Akihito watched Asami's eyes closely, and somehow, the bartender knew to refill his boss's glass without a motion. Asami thanked him with a chin duck before those golden diamonds flickered upon Akihito again and subsequently melted, like always. Akihito allowed his whiskey to roll over his tongue, though he feared little.

"So…Sakamoto Hideoyshi." Asami lit up a cigarette and took possession of the card. "I take it you were interested."

"He has some qualities my boyfriend lacks."

"Such as?"

"Honesty. Integrity. Youth."

Asami laughed, an indulgent tone low in his voice, before he flicked on his lighter and placed the vulnerable card to the violent flame. First the corner crumbled under its own weight, the flame granting no mercy as the white paper darkened to black.

Akihito glared at Asami through the miasma of the dancing flame. "What makes you think I won't use that? I have the number memorized."

"You won't," Asami smirked, a devious, daring expression of lust and malevolence.

"Your confidence is astounding, but I won't be played, Asami-san." He stepped down from the stool and now stood several inches shorter than Asami where on the stool he had been almost at the taller man's eyesight. "By now you must have realized that."

Asami thunked his empty whiskey glass upside down upon the bar, trapping the remains of the card and the vibrant flames in a transparent coffin. "Do you know that a majority of my day is spent convincing people to do things they either don't want to do or wouldn't do under different circumstances?"

Akihito shook his head, though it made sense, considering Asami's darker deals. "Still, there's no way you'll convince me to stay."

"I convinced you to stop attacking my business and me."

Akihito narrowed his eyes before turning with a mutter. "That was different."

Before he took two steps, hard, unrelenting hands snatched his biceps, while a soft, sensual voice roiled his stomach. "Was it? Tell me, _Akihito_, what would you do if you saw a young reporter, a punk in every sense of a word, but one with conviction and moral, though highly questionable methods, a boy on the cusp of becoming a man who is determined to right every wrong in this world. His focus is turned upon you, and you embody everything he hates, everything he hopes to destroy. How do you stop him?" Warm lips caressed his lobe; hot breath teased his prickled skin. "You turn what he hates into something he loves."

A cold fury seeped into Akihito's gut, and a horrible ache burned in his chest. Akihito turned, eyes flooded with disbelief but raging like a storm. "You fucking bastard." His low voice was a barely contained scream. "You've been playing me all along."

"Yes," Asami admitted, his fingers brushing the short strands at the nape of Akihito's neck. "Of course. It was only a matter of time before you grew into a formidable opponent to my business and those like me. I needed to stop you before you became unattainable."

Akihito jerked away his arm and forced his eyes to stay wide to ward of the oncoming tears. "So what's your game this time, then? Telling me the truth won't get you what you want."

"It's not what I want that's important, is it, Akihito?" Asami pulled out a fresh cigarette, gracing his lips with the delicate poison. "You came here to reclaim something you _believed_ belong to you."

"And apparently, I'm proven your fool once more."

"Have you been?" The fire once more blazed at the end of Asami's stick before he leaned against the bar in an obvious display of forced relaxation and yet, complete command. "Tell me, Takaba-san. Out of all the people in this establishment and their predominance in life, who holds my complete attention?"

"Only after you grant it to everyone else."

"Everyone else didn't sneak in here with a false I.D., and just for future reference, my men at the door know all our customers by face and name. They iallowed/i your entrance."

"But why?" Akihito pressed. "Why would you ever want me to see you with _her_?"

"My first intension was not to allow you to see myself with her, but I wasn't going to deny you the truth."

"What truth? God, Asami, will you just say what you mean for once?"

Asami prowled forward until his presence commanded Akihito's eyes rise to meet his. "Everyone in this room, whether they realize it now, will want you dead in the future. When I said you would be unattainable, I meant in the way that wouldn't make you _mine_. Do you think if we would have met a few years later, you would be naïve enough to believe that a relationship like ours could ever work? If you are more experienced, more revered, do you believe you would have ever given yourself to me?"

"You took everything!"

"You allowed me to," Asami replied coolly, blowing smoke in Akihito's face. "There is no doubt you are a boy on the cusp of becoming a man who is determined to right every wrong in this world…even if it kills you. You believe I would ever allow something like that to happen?"

"Then why—"

"I told you once that it is better to be seen as a whore than as a lover. The danger associated with such a claim is higher than that of a meddlesome reporter. So decoys are created. Fiction is passed as fact. Hostesses from my clubs become my escorts, but the deception is at the end. What you did today is unforgivable in my world. A reporter finding his way into the sanctuary of the black-hearted—it must not be tolerated.

"Anyone who dares to touch fire in Sion will be burned only by me."

Akihito stood there, just staring at Asami, the words replaying over and over in his mind, his emotions clawing to find some understanding. "W—What does that even mean?"

"It means I must keep up appearances," and in one swift move, Asami tilted up Akihito's chin and savaged his lips in a searing embrace. Akihito returned it without thinking, his arms sliding up Asami's chest to wrap about the man's neck. He twisted his head and opened his lips when Asami beckoned with his tongue, and they danced before a captive audience.

Akihito finally began to struggle when he heard a patron at a side table reply, "Asami-san never shares his conquest," but Asami already seemed to anticipate his struggle, tearing away from the kiss before Akihito could and throwing the younger man over his shoulder. Only once they entered the private areas of the club did Akihito demand, "Do all those people think you're—"

"Either fucking you as retribution for trespassing or simply fucking you because I want to?"

"But—ugh!"Asami threw Akihito down onto the couch, the same couch they'd shared not too long ago. "I'm not a conquest or a pet or a toy."

"I take what I want, Akihito. I hold no shame in that declaration."

"WAIT!" Akihito finally pushed Asami away from him and sucked in deep, heaving breathes, his neck already stinging from Asami's assault. "What—What if they think I was waiting for you all that time? What if they think we're really...y'know, a couple?"

Asami chuckled and banished a wayward strand of Akihito's hair from his eyes. "That is the least of the rumors you need to fear."

"Really?"

"However, if you wish to retain your chastity, you could run half naked through the club once we're done celebrating each other."

Akihito moved to smack him, only to stop at the sight just beyond Asami's arched back. He lifted his neck to see over Asami's raised shoulder, and the older man helped him by ducking to reclaim that area. A small table was erected with two place settings and a delicious smelling meal. The office was drenched in darkness, candles providing the only light. Twin roses sat intermingled on the coffee table, and Akihito let out a pleasured moan when Asami found one of his nipples, sucking it to a hardened peak.

"You're not off the hook, y'know," Akihito gasped, his fingers tussling Asami's once perfectly styled hair. "This—ugh, relationship only works if we trust one another."

Asami raised his eyes from Akihito's chest before setting his chin in the cleft. His arms wrapped around the younger man's waist, settling on his lower cheeks. "What do you want as compensation? A finger perhaps? My soul? A sports car?"

"I've got more than your finger. I own your soul, too, or whatever's lingering in the black hole in your chest." He kissed Asami's quickly on the lips. "I want your word. Here. Now. That if you lie to me again, it's only on the number of cigarettes you've smoked or how much money you're actually worth."

Asami tapped Akihito's ass cheek, thinking, before he tugged down the pants. "Fine, but I'll only give you my word if you give me yours."

"About what?"

"Your love. I want to hear the words. Today. Now. You've told me more than once that I can have your body but never your heart. For my word, I want that."

And the retort came faster than he could stop it. "Oh. My. God. You set this up, didn't you? The Valenswine Day offer, the club entrance, the girl—hell, even the actor. You set this whole thing up just to hear me say three words, you bastard!"

"They're not just three words, Akihito. They mark you—body, soul, and heart—as mine, for now and for always, and I won't stop until I have all of you."

A conquest for sure, and it took tender strokes upon Akihto's twitching cock, loving caresses upon his neck, devouring embraces upon his lips, and quick but forceful thrusts until Akihito released what Asami wanted, his head lying upon the man's chest. Then, he kissed the man's chest, and when he rose his stormy hazel eyes, his tired but determined glare tore through Asami's strategically placed defenses.

"You act all high and mighty, ruling from atop of an unreachable plateau, but you can't hide the truth, not from me. Your insecurities. Your uncertainty. Your fear. You tell me there is no escape. You say you hold my freedom, but you needed to prove today that I would never leave you. That's why you had a woman on your arm. That's why you had me sit at the bar and get hit on time and time again. You wanted to make damn sure I would never stray and, if nothing else, that I'm strong enough to survive in your world." Akihito snorted. "Like my time with Feilong wasn't proof enough.

"But you know what _this_ proved, Ryuichi?" Akihito sent him a daring, overzealous smile that brightened his face and the dark cloak of Asami's world. "I didn't come here to reclaim something I _believed_ belonged to me. I came because I hold the leash, and I just needed to jerk my pet back to my side."

Asami's grim expression that formed during the Akihito's speech upturned with the simple discovery of a smirk. "You _think_ you have me completely figured out."

"I _know_ your plan backfired. You turned something you hated into something you love, and because you're seriously damaged, you have no idea how to be in a normal, loving relationship. But that's okay. One of us isn't an emotional disturbed, premier Asian criminal lord." He laid his head back down upon Asami's chest, sleep finally claiming him. "And I take care of things that belong to me."

The End


End file.
